7.31.2008

Judge a Book: You be the Judge!

So occasionally I get masochist authors who want me to snark on their books. Now, we all know I'm too nice to make fun of my readers, right? That's why I leave it to you! Here are a couple of submissions (thanks, Julia and Lee!). Snark away!

Okay, I can't resist snarking on this one. Looks like Blossom got a double mastectomy and is four months pregnant. But my favorite part is the shadowed lettering. Doesn't look like bad photoshop at all!

14 comments:

Picture the scene: Outside the window of Barnes & Noble, a crowd is gathering. Are they salivating over the latest Nora Roberts release? No, the large amount of spittle on the floor is generated by the random people falling into epileptic seizures. Those not so sensitive merely develop splitting migraines, and the cagey don dark glasses and stare fixedly at the storefront across the way until they are out of visual range. The manager of B & N, witnessing it all, looks at ole Herb, longtime employee and notorious prankster. "Herb!" she bellows. "Did you put 'Sexy Librarian' in the window display again?"

I don't mind snark at all, which is good publicity, only the fact that you didn't link to Mortal Ghost !

http://mortalghost.blogspot.com

The cover was designed by Australian artist L.M.Noonon (link at the novel blog) for a POD copy of the novel, issued as a service for those who find reading longer fiction on a screen difficult. I'm an indie writer who has otherwise no interest in conventional publishing - and originally not much in covers, just writing, though I see how they might become fascinating.

I'm absolutely committed to making my work freely available to everyone, everywhere - and many of my readers come from very far off places where a printed book would be hard to come by (or unaffordable).

Mortal Ghost is downloaded about 50-100 times per day, and the podcasts, read by British theatre student Bill Uden, are even more popular: ca. 25,000 downloads to date:

http://lleelowe.com

Since I plan to add an image to the website and, eventually, to the PDF/POD copy of Corvus, my new F/SF novel which I hope to begin serialising in Autumn, would you suggested a painted/sketched design instead? Here's the link for those interested in reading an excerpt:

http://corvus-lowe.blogspot.com

Thanks for your feedback in an area where I'm an utter novice.

(P.S. I'm definitely not going to reveal a clue to the 'cupcake', which made me chuckle.)

Well, Lee, I may not be smart enough to give you the review of the cover you're looking for, but I can say what I feel.

Whomever was hired to do this should be fired. The agroginous character with his/her buldging belly - apparently he/she is pregant with a burning house - the flaming cupcake - or as I see it, a music box (with a ballerina on top) that's on fire - ug. It's just a total turn off. The story inside may be good, but the cover isn't. The fact is, it looks like something a barely artistically gifted goth would do to freak out their art teacher. On the whole, likely very unworthy of the words inside.

Hi Jamisings, I expect you mean 'androgynous', which is in fact relevant to the story, likewise the object in Jesse's hand. If you want to know what it is, you'll just have to read the novel!

However, I have certainly noted the dislike of shadowed lettering, and though I understand the criticism of a photoshopped look, which I'll keep in mind for future covers, I ought to point out that the artist in question donated her efforts to support my project. She is an award-winning painter, and I am happy to express my gratitude to her publicly.

Whether or not you're smart enough to review my work is not germane. I'm grateful for your honest reactions.

As for the "sexy librarian" one, the cover's fine. Except for that "Critical Edition", which sounds kind of pretentious. It did take me a while to figure out that the book was supposed to be wrapped in a fishnet stocking though.

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Just what, exactly, is Judge a Book by its Cover?

I worked in a public library. I saw literally thousands of books every week; the good, the bad, and the truly hideous. These are the covers from the latter category. Joining me (Maughta) is the ever-popular pinch hitter (and handy husband) DocTurtle.

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Send me book pictures! Just say hi! I want to hear from YOU! judgeabook(at)yahoo(dot)com